Caring Compass: new guidelines for better support

Supporting without doing things for them

In social, professional or educational contexts, support situations are rarely straightforward. A single person may face several challenges and need to engage with different people.

The Caring Compass handbook is based on a key principle: the person being supported must remain in control of their own journey. Support therefore aims to uphold their choices and independence rather than making decisions or taking action on their behalf.

This approach translates into very practical actions: clarifying objectives, taking small steps, truly listening to the needs expressed, and gradually building a relationship of trust.

Clarifying one’s role to provide better support

Being available and caring is not always enough. Professionals and volunteers may also face situations where the boundaries of their role become less clear.

The handbook therefore devotes significant space to the framework of support: each person’s role, professional boundaries, confidentiality, ethics and the ability to know when to hand over to someone else.

The aim is not to make the relationship rigid, but rather to create a framework that is clear enough for both the person receiving support and the support provider to know where they stand.

Guidance for everyday situations

One of the benefits of Caring Compass is that it does not stop at general principles. The resources developed as part of the project address several very practical aspects of support work:

• building a relationship of trust;
• setting objectives and identifying realistic milestones;
• communicating in situations that can sometimes be difficult;
• working with other professionals and partners;
• respecting the boundaries of one’s role;
• taking a step back to reflect on the situations encountered.

The handbook may therefore be of interest to social workers, mentors, counsellors, volunteers and others who play a supportive role for people facing difficulties in their daily lives, their career paths or their integration.

Don’t face complex situations alone

Supporting someone does not mean taking everything on yourself. Caring Compass also emphasises the importance of networking.

Social services, employment agencies, healthcare organisations, training providers and charities can all play complementary roles. Knowing how to identify these resources and collaborate with them enables a better response to the needs of the person being supported, whilst ensuring that the support worker does not have to deal with a complex situation alone.

This approach to cooperation also applies to professionals working with one another. Supervision and peer discussions are presented as ways to take a step back, share the difficulties encountered and prevent burnout.

Caring for those who provide support

This is perhaps one of the project’s key messages: the quality of support also depends on the conditions under which it is provided.

Difficult human situations can lead to fatigue, self-doubt or a feeling of powerlessness. Preventing burnout cannot, therefore, rely solely on an individual’s ability to ‘look after themselves’. The handbook highlights the value of a collective framework: regular supervision, peer-to-peer exchanges, a clear division of responsibilities and organisational support.

In other words, providing better support to others also means being able to receive support, encouragement and a sense of belonging oneself.

A resource worth exploring

Caring Compass does not propose a single method applicable to all situations. Rather, the project provides guidelines, practices and resources to help support workers develop their own way of working, tailored to their context and the needs of those they support.

Whether you are a social care professional, a mentor, a counsellor, a volunteer or involved in a support organisation, the handbook can serve as a resource to help you take a step back and reflect on your practices, and to enrich the ways in which you work.

To explore the resources developed as part of the Caring Compass project and learn more about these practices, download the handbook free of charge: https://adice.asso.fr/en/publications/manuel-mieux-accompagner-les-acteurs-du-soutien-social/